The Pros And Cons Of Under-Policing

Punished

Consistent, negative encounters with the police lead young people to become adversal on the legal system are the words of Victor M. Rios who studied 40 boys for three years. A combination of black and Latino youth in Oakland, California. The minority youth stopped depending on the authorities for help once they see no progress. Under-policing is a term used to define when Police deny equal protection to racial and ethnic minorities in the united states by failing to protect us. Over policing is when the police are more focused on punishment tactics rather than preventative or ethical proper procedures. The lack of prevention and support from police leads to mocking of the justice system as stated the teens do often in the story.

The gang member database is something that put a different mentality into these young men's heads. This adds time onto any crime committed, even a misdemeanor, because your gang affiliated. Which this could be 5, 10, or 20 additional years depending on what the judge says. They can be viewed as a gang member because of what area they live in, or who they hang out with. These are not yet adults, but young men who are still finding their way through life. It saddened me reading the book because I felt some things on a very personal level and it makes you wonder why do things have to be this way? In the story, there was a scene that got a young man arrested for stealing a 25-cent bag of chips. The young man had intentions on buying the chips, he was not going in there to steal. It said there had been a sign on the door that said "2 kids at a time only", and this young man entered the store in a group of four. When he went to pay for his items, he was harassed and threatened by the store clerk for breaking the capacity rules and for insinuating they were trying to steal. He ended up telling the clerk "you see this? I was going to pay for it, but now I'm not" and ran out of the store with his friends following him though no one else stole. The young man ended up getting arrested over the incident. The reason why he stole the chips when asked by the author, is because he felt disrespected by the clerk. Once he reentered the store, the clerk showed him and his friends respect. He was even allowed to come in with as many people as he wanted. It was worth the trip to the juvenile center for him, to gain